


Ghosting

by Veshtar



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Horror, M/M, Or at least an attempt at horror, Paranormal Investigators, Relationship takes a backseat to plot, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 02:45:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15547881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veshtar/pseuds/Veshtar
Summary: "My name is Zack Fair. I never believed in ghosts, until a ghost believed in me."





	Ghosting

“April, year 0007. Thursday.”

“It’s Wednesday, Zack.”

“Right, Wednesday.”

Struggling under the seat belt, Zack turned in his seat and aimed the viewfinder at the three in the back seat. Thigh-to-thigh between a sleeping Wedge and Biggs, Jessie looked up into the camera and gave a brief smile. It was more like a quick jerk of her lips, just the corner of them, but it was a fond look. When she returned to her laptop, Zack turned back to face the front, but not without a deliberate zoom-in at their usual cameraman. Sephiroth’s teal-green eyes don’t leave the road, which is for the better. It would suck if they fell off of the craggy path now.

“About another half hour until we hit the Nibel Range, and with it, our destination.” Zack continued, making a sweeping gesture with the hand not holding the camera. “That’s right boys and girls at home. We’re going to Nibelheim.”

His face split into a feverous grin. Any paranormal investigator worth their salt knew that with the Nibel Range, came Nibelheim.

Nibelheim. Gods. They were really going.

“Now,” Zack removed the camera strap from his hand and aimed the lens at himself. “For those back home who don’t know, Nibelheim is a backwater mountain settlement just below the foot of Mt. Nibel. I’m talkin’ really, really out of the way too. And I’m from _Gongaga_.”

The last part was important. Their fans all thought it was insane that Zack was from the rural tropic town. He’d been asked a few times, benightedly, if he used to live in a mud house before moving to Midgar. Rather than correct them, ‘Gongaga’ became a fanmade unit of measurement for how ‘bumfuck out of the way’ their investigations took them. Nibelheim, therefore, was beyond bumfuck out of the way. It was one of the many reasons why so few teams had made it to the isolated hamlet. Which reminded him-

“Disclaimers first, as always.” Zack cleared his throat and put on his best ‘serious business’ face. “What we do, and the places we go, can be extremely dangerous. We understand the risks and are trained to respond to any incident that may arise. That cave in at Mideel State Asylum? Completely real, and if not for Wedge, I’d be dead.”

There's a muffled yawn, and a groggy “Anytime, buddy” from the backseat. Zack’s ‘business face’ lost a little bit of business, and he smiled at the reflection of the larger man in the rear-view mirror.

“Next. Disclaimer part two, for those who may be thinking: ‘Psh, mountains-sh’mountains. I’ve hiked worse in cub scouts’.”

Unclipping the mic from the collar of his jacket, he offered the small device blindly behind him. “Jessie, if you would?”  

“Certainly.” She slid the laptop onto Wedge’s wide thigh and reached for the mic. The cord wasn’t able to extend more than a few inches out, so she leaned forward and closed the distance. In the viewfinder, her ginger-brown head popped in next to Zack’s, chin resting against the headrest.  

“Even in the warmer months, the Nibel Range is known to be inhospitable at best. According to satellite imagery, the single road that used to wind through the range has mostly been obscured. In some areas where vegetation is scarce, the soil is loose enough to cause landslides. It can snow sporadically at higher elevations. There are wolves.” She paused thoughtfully, turning to him. “Is this where I add that more than fifty people have reportedly gone missing in the last five years?”

“Good one. All in all, impromptu hikes are not recommended. In case the message wasn’t clear, do not try what we will be attempting, at home or otherwise. We are what you call. Professionals.”

“Professionals.” Jessie echoed, clipping the mic back onto Zack’s collar and settling back into her seat.

“Now, onto the good stuff. For those unfamiliar with the Nibelheim Incident, I’ll start from the beginning. Before things went apples and bananas, Nibelheim used to be a plain ole’ mountain settlement; barely a blip on the map. It’s most notable features were, as mentioned, being out in the middle of nowhere, and it's access to Mt. Nibel.

To the locals, their town’s mountainous namesake was supposedly the favored land of their goddess, Skaði, and where her home, Thrymheim, was located. Holy land, basically. So imagine the town’s surprise when Shinra Manufacturing plops a big, hulking reactor right on the side of it. 

Suffice to say, they were not happy, and rumor has it, neither was their goddess. Irregular blizzards, avalanches, and an increase of hostile wolf attacks have all been attributed to Skaði’s anger. But superstitious hearsay couldn’t stop Shinra, and the Nibel reactor juiced Mt. Nibel for all it’s worth. Technicians were sent every few years for upkeep. Go in, tighten some bolts, shoo off the local wildlife- that sort of thing. Flash forward, circa 1986. It’s time for another maintenance check, but something is different.

In the official transcripts, Shinra technicians report the sensation of being watched and had insisted their vehicle was being followed. It’s not clear what the workers thought was out there, but it had them spooked. Numerous calls were made back to headquarters, all detailing something wrong, something unusual, following them on their way to Nibelheim.

And then, almost an hour since the last, another call is made. It’s different; the operator can barely understand what’s being said through the static. Ragged breaths, too close to the receiver, garble what isn’t distorted. The worker is unresponsive to attempts to calm him; voice growing frenzied with spit and static. And then. Nothin- oof!”

The seatbelt anchored down Zack’s chest, but his head is whipped hard enough to see stars. The camera is knocked out of his hands and onto the dashboard. Behind him, Biggs groaned. The tech’s head was tilted back, hand pressed against where his temple made harsh contact with the window. Jessie held fast to her laptop, clutching the device like a lifeline. One of Wedge’s large arms had shot across her like a second meaty seatbelt while his other was bent, holding the chicken handle in a vice.

“Is everyone okay?” Zack croaked. Various states of ‘sorta’ responded back. “Seph, what the hell happened?”

The car was stopped, Sephiroth’s white-knuckled grip tight on the wheel. Dry leaves and branches brushed against the windows, the thicket adjusting to having a car rudely introduced. Outside, two curves marked where tires ripped through the loamy earth.

“I’m not sure.” The silver-haired man’s voice was even, but the edges were unsteady. He refused to look at Zack, eyes trained out the windshield as if he were still driving. Zack watched Sephiroth swallow down several attempts to speak. He licked his lips as if moistening them would help get the words out. Finally, green eyes turned to Zack’s violet.

“I swerved,” Sephiroth admitted. “There was... someone on the road.”

“Someone on the road,” Zack repeated, considering the statement and the subtle shakiness of his friend. Sephiroth nodded but looked wholly unconvinced by his own words. After a moment of deliberation, Zack unclipped his seatbelt and began to fight with the door. When his boots met dirt, Wedge rolled down his window and called after him.

“Zack, where are you going, man!?”

Free of the bushes, he turned back to the car and waved towards the road. They hadn’t crashed too far from the main path, and he had already been halfway up the small hillock.

“Seph thought he saw someone, so I’m gonna go check it out. If its nothing, it’s nothing. But if it’s a person, they might need help.”

“Dude, there’s no way there’d be anyone out here! Zack!”

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to practice with past-tense and dialogue, and so this was born. Paranormal-themed because to me, summer is like October: the best time for binge-watching paranormal television series. Thanks for stoppin' by, see ya'll next chapter.


End file.
